Must-see entertainment in Poland

  • Teatr Wielki

    Warsaw

    Dating from 1833, destroyed in WWII and rebuilt to Antonio Corazzi's original design in 1965, this magnificent building is home to the Polish National…

  • Filharmonia Narodowa

    Warsaw

    Home of the world-famous National Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir of Poland, the National Philharmonic was founded in 1901. Destroyed during WWII, it was…

  • Teatr Powszechny

    Warsaw

    With three auditoriums of different sizes, this repertory theatre company stages an impressive range of works from both international and local…

  • Harris Piano Jazz Bar

    Kraków

    Lively jazz haunt housed in an atmospheric, intimate cellar right on the Main Market Square. Harris hosts jazz and blues bands most nights from around 9…

  • Nowy Teatr

    Warsaw

    Offering many performances with English subtitles this is one of the best places in Warsaw to catch contemporary drama. Based in an artfully converted…

  • Teatr Dramatyczny

    Warsaw

    At the vanguard of the dramatic arts in Warsaw is this storied-theatre company based in a wing of the Palace of Culture & Science. There are two stages –…

  • Chmury

    Warsaw

    The framed photo on the wall of Laura Palmer, heroine of Twin Peaks, clues you into the David Lynch TV and movie theme of this live music and bar venue…

  • Kino Kijów Centrum

    Kraków

    Loved by Cracovians for its retro '60s, communist-era design and architecture, Kijów is one of many independent cinemas in Kraków. It's also home to a…

  • Klub Kwadrat

    Kraków

    This popular student club is a great place to catch up-and-coming Polish rock and indie groups, as well as visiting international acts. Check the website…

  • Piwnica Pod Baranami

    Kraków

    This 'Cellar Under the Rams' has been a legendary place since it came into being in 1956 as a 'literary cabaret'. Nowadays, the program is a bit sporadic,…

  • Stary Theatre

    Kraków

    This is the city’s best-known theatre company and it has attracted the cream of its actors. To overcome the language barrier, pick a Shakespeare play you…

  • Teatr im Słowackiego

    Kraków

    This important theatre focuses on Polish classics and large-scale productions. It’s in a large and opulent building (1893) that’s patterned on the Paris…

  • Kino Pod Baranami

    Kraków

    The Cinema Under the Rams is hidden inside a historic palace on a corner of the Main Market Square. There are three screening rooms given over to the best…

  • Kinoteka

    Warsaw

    There are eight auditoriums, several of them quite grand, at this multiplex cinema housed in the Palace of Culture & Science. A good range of films are…

  • Warszawa Opera Kameralna

    Warsaw

    Performs a repertoire ranging from medieval mystery plays to contemporary works, but is most famous for its performances of Mozart’s operas.

  • Kraków Philharmonic

    Kraków

    Home to one of Poland's best orchestras. Check the website for a calendar of events. Buy tickets at the box office during working hours or an hour ahead…

  • Kino Nowe Horyzonty

    Wrocław

    Art-house cinema screening movies from around the world, including English-language films and others with English subtitles. There's a bistro/cafe open…

  • The simple yet inviting exterior of Oliwa Pub along Miodowa Street

    Oliwa Pub

    Kraków

    This threadbare bar is one of the best venues in town for live rock and you'll find performances downstairs most weekends. Even if you don't happen to…

  • Kino Agrafka, its one screening room seats 109.

    Kino Agrafka

    Kraków

    This small but stylish cinema is housed inside a YMCA building not far from the Planty. It has just one screening room, but runs a regular repertoire of…

  • Re, keep an eye out for the sign tucked into a hedge along the street.

    Re

    Kraków

    You can't beat Re for its excellent line-up of live music, which features indie rock bands from all over the world, playing up close and in your face…

  • Piano Rouge, piano Rouge sits in the main square with seating outside during warmer months.

    Piano Rouge

    Kraków

    This sumptuous cellar jazz club and restaurant is decked out with classic sofas, red velvets, louche lampshades and billowing lengths of colourful silk…

  • Gdańsk Shakespeare Theatre

    Gdańsk

    Built on the site of a 17th-century playhouse called the 'Fencing School' where English travelling troupes used to perform the Bard, this damn-ugly, black…

  • Karłowicz Philharmonic Szczecin

    Szczecin

    Awarded the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture in 2015, Szczecin's Philharmonic Hall looks like a misplaced factory, the lack of windows…

  • Legia Warsaw

    Warsaw

    To give it its full official name, the Marshall Józef Piłsudski's Municipal Stadium is the home stadium of the city's football (soccer) team Legia Warsaw,…

  • Służewiec Racecourse

    Warsaw

    Warsaw's main racecourse since 1939 is around 10km south of the city centre. Events are held most weekends between late April and mid-November – the most…

  • Stodoła

    Warsaw

    One of Warsaw’s biggest and longest-running live-music stages, Stodoła is a great place to catch local and touring singers and bands. It started out in…

  • Studio Teatr­ga­le­ria

    Warsaw

    Don't come here expecting anything like light entertainment or comedy. Studio specialises in challenging, avant garde plays and performances. The theatre…

  • Royal Theatre

    Warsaw

    Polska Opera Królewska regularly perform concerts and operas in this intimate and authentic 18th-century court theatre featuring beautiful stucco and…

  • Teatr Narodowy

    Warsaw

    The National Theatre has a legendary history of over 250 years. Its productions are mounted on three stages: the 625-seat main theatre Bogusławski's Room;…

  • Kino Iluzjon

    Warsaw

    Occupying a heritage building, designed in Mieczysław Piprek and completed in 1950, Kino Iluzjon is a branch of the National Film Archive. As such, it…

  • Teatr Żydowsk

    Warsaw

    This theatre's full name is Teatr Żydowski im Estery Rachel i Idy Kamińskich. It stages many of its productions in Yiddish, but Polish and English…

  • Kino Syrena

    Warsaw

    From Tuesday to Thursday at 5pm, the 70-minute documentary The River of Treasures about sculptures lying for 350 years at the bottom of the Vistula River…

  • Club Cabaret

    Kraków

    This red-velvet club harking back to the 1920s, both in appearance and programme, sponsors all types of shows from cabaret to burlesque, theatre, folk and…

  • Szpitalna 1

    Kraków

    Awesome live music club and cocktail bar with an eclectic programme of electronica, rock and occasional stand-up comedy nights. The cocktail menu is…

  • Time For Chopin

    Warsaw

    Virtuoso pianists play daily concerts in the gallery hall of the Association of Polish Art Photographers, so while enjoying piano recitals you can also…

  • Opera i Filharmonia Podlaska

    Mazovia & Podlasie

    From a distance, this huge venue looks either like a prison or something left behind by the Soviet military, despite its pretty park-like setting. But the…

  • Blue Note Jazz Club

    Poznań

    Blue Note, a major live jazz spot and occasional dance club within the Kaiserhaus, hosts regular concerts and jam sessions by local groups, as well as the…

  • Dom Środowisk Twórczych

    Małopolska

    One of the best music venues in town, offering temporary exhibitions and live music (depending on the night, from classical to rock and jazz) in a…

  • Filharmonia

    Poznań

    This musical institution holds concerts at least weekly by the house symphony orchestra. Poznań also has Poland’s best boys' choir, the Poznańskie Słowiki…

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